Blacking-machine.



F. M. FURBER.

BLACKING MACHINE. APPLICATION men NOV. 15. 911.

1,290,165. Paten ted. Jan. 7, 1919.

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F. M. FURBER;

BLACKiPlG MACHlNE. APPLECATEON FILED Nov. I5. 1912.

1,299,165, Patented Jan. 7,1919.

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STATES FREDERICK M. FURBER, OF REVERE, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGN- MENTS, T0 UNITED SHOE MACHINERY CORPORATION, OF IPATERSON, NEW JERSEY,

A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

BLACKlING-MAGHINE.

Specification of Iletters Patent.

Patented J an. '7, 1919.

Application filed November 15, 1917. Serial No. 202,143.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FREDERICK M. FURBER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Revere, in the county of Suffolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain Improvements in Blacking-Machines, of Which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification, like reference characters on the drawings indicating like parts in the several figures.

This invention relates to finishing machines for boots and shoes and although it is in no respect so limited, it finds particular application to the blackingof heels with quick drying blacking. For convenience of discussion, the term blacking will be used frequently in the specification and claims to include all sorts of similar finishing materials, such as inks, colored stains, enamels of any desired color, etc., and the work willbe referred to as the heel although the invention obviously has application to other parts of a boot or shoe. 1

Certain kinds of finish,'of which white enamel is a notable example, have the characteristic of drying very quickly. For this and other reasons, including the fact that they are composed largely of varnish, considerable difficulty is experienced in applying such finishwithout leaving the marks of the bristles of the applying brush or of overlapping brush strokes. Blacking ma chines of known types and employing driven brushes must have relatively stiff bristles to prevent matting of these bristles and, when used with this type of blacking, have not proved satisfactory for use with fin ishes having the characteristics above-men- Another object of the invention is to provide a blacking machine so constructed and arranged as to permit the .use of a brush having particularly soft bristles and, at the same time, avoid matting of these bristles either in the supplying of blacking to the brush or in the application of work to the brush. In the illustrated embodiment, this 1s accomplished by providing a rotatable brush which is allowed to remain stationary during the application of work to the brush and then allowedto move forward so as to present freshly wetted brush surfaces in position for their application to the next piece of work.

A feature of the invention relates to means for holding the brush against movement during the presentation of work thereagainst and allowing the rotation of the brush to bring a freshly wetted surface into position for engagement by the work. Vith this arrangement, the application of blacking may be effected by a single relative movement of the Work and the brush, as in the hand operation but the production of marks from brush bristles or overlapping brush strokes is entirely avoided.

The illustrated brush may be effectively associated with a rand crease guide disk and another feature of the invention relates to the combination of a driven guide disk with an idly mounted brush arranged adjacenttliereto and contacting with the disk to receive blacking therefrom.

From another standpoint the invention may besaid to comprise a blacking apply ing means arranged to be moved through light frictional engagement with a driven part of the machine in order to acquire lacking from the blacking supply, the construction and arrangement being such that the blackingapplying means is held stationary during. the presentation of work thereto.

It has been found that a brush rotated by reason of its engagement with the work tends to engage the work presented thereto ;in such a manner that bubbles are produced when the ends of thebristles leave the work.

Furthermore, it is diflic ult to regulate the progress of an unclriven freely rota-table brush so as to insure the presentation of a freshly wetted surface of the brush to the work. Accordingly, another feature of the invention relates to the provision of means for preventing rotation of the brush in one direction while allowing its rotation in the other direction, which rotation preferably is coincident with the direction of rotation of the rand crease guide.

In the illustrated embodiment, the machine is provided with a rand crease guide in the form of a concave disk and the blacking is supplied to one face of this disk at a point remote from the work in any well known manner. A soft bristle brush is then rotatably mounted upon an axis substantially parallel to the axis of rotation of the disk and adjacent to one face thereof in frictional engagement with a portion of the periphery of the disk. The brush has a periphery of a diameter different from the diameter of the disk and means is provided, as already described, for preventing rotation of the brush upon the application of work but allowing its rotation in one direction by reason of its frictional engagement with the rand crease guide. Blacking is thus applied to a lateral face of the soft bristle brush and the brush is carried forward to present a freshly wetted surface during the intervals between the application of work to the machine.

As a consequence of this arrangement, it

"will be seen that there is provided a machine by means of which blacking may be applied to the work by a single relative movement between the brush and the work. At the same time, it is possible to use a brush with very soft bristles since the brush is not rotated in engagement with the work, and, therefore, there is no tendency to mat the bristles. In the preferred embodiment, the brush is made comparatively narrow and the blacking of the heel is carried out according to the novel method described in my co-pending application Serial No. 207,494 filed December 17, 1917. According to this method, the machine described herein is utilized for applying blacking to the rand crease and a small portion of the adjacent edge of the heel. The work is then finished by the manual application of blacking to the remainder of the surface of the heel. Because of the fact that the rand crease has already been coated, this latter operation can be carried out with great faoility. Any overlapping of the two coats will furthermore occur at the extreme upper edge of'the heel and may be effaced by the usual beading operation. 7

Other features of the invention will become apparent after a consideration of the following specification taken in connectioin with the accompanying drawings in which,

Figure 1 is a plan view of an improved blacking machine;

Fig. 2 is a side view of the brush and its supporting mechanism, showing its relation to the rand crease guide;

Fig. 3 is a face view of the brush and its supporting mechanism; and

Fig. 4 is a modified arrangement using a wider brush.

The invention has been applied to a machine of the type illustrated in Letters Patentof the United States No. 1,195,348 granted Aug. 22, 1916, upon the application of F. M. Furber and will be seen to comprise a main power shaft 10 connected by worm gears to a jack shaft 12 supporting a disk 14 which dips in blacking contained in a tank 16 and which delivers the same to one face of the concave disk constituting the rand crease guide 20. This guide 20 is positively driven by means of a gear connection to the shaft 12 and isarranged to rotate in a. counter-clockwise direction as viewed from the concave side of the disk. The convex side of the disk is cleaned by means of a wiper 22 of usual form so that no blacking will be applied to the upper of the shoe when the disk isinserted in the rand crease.

Mounted beside the disk and in frictional engagement with a portion of the periphery thereof is a soft bristle brush 24 whose shaft 26 is supported in a bracket 28 adjustably held upon the frame by means of a bolt 30. The upper end of the bracket is slotted at 32 to allow backward and forward adjustment of the bracket and its brush shaft 26, this movement being restricted to a straight line by co-acting faces 29 on the bracket and the frame, and the shaft 26 may be longitudinally adjusted within the bracket by loosening a set screw passing through a collar 33 between two arms of the lower end of the bracket. Upon this collar are ratchet teeth 34 which coijperate with a pawl 36 upon the bracket. As will be seen by an inspection of Fig. 2, the brush is idly mounted and is arrangedfor free rotation in the same direction as the disk, and is yieldingly driven in the said direction by light frictional engagement with the disk butis held stationary upon the application of the work which is commonly moved upwardly against the motion of the disk.

The preferred method of blacking a heel in accordance with my invention is to ,ap ply blacking to the rand creaseand a por- 'tion ofthe adjacent face of the 'heel in one operation and to black the remainder of the heel in another operation. The term rand crease is used generically herein to indicate any part of the crease between the 'upper and the sole. Any indications of a joint between the two applications of blacking may then be eifaced. for example, by beading the upper edge of the heel in the usual manner. In practising this method upon. the improved machlne just described the work will first be held in the position indicated in Fig. 2 and will then be moved upwardly past the relatively stationary brush and the disk against the direction of rotation of thedisk, and being turned, blacking will be applied to the rand crease of the shoe and a portion of the face of the heel adjacent thereto with a single relative movement of the work and the machine. The rotation of the rand crease guide disk 20 in the rand crease will ndt only apply blacking to the crease, but will at the same time open up the crease where it may have become partially closed during the operation of heel trimming or heel scouring and will also beat down the upper edge of the sole or heel and eliminate any rough edges or loose fibers. After an application of the work to the machine, the brush will be carried forward in a counter-clock-wise direction by reason of the frictional engagement between the guide 20 and the brush and blacking will be delivered to that portion of the brush which is advancing into position for engagement with the work, it being somewhat retarded by the brush and piled up, thereby to fill the brush. In this connection, it will be noted that the ratchet serves another function, to wit,that of preventing the brush from being moved backward by the application of the work to such an extent that a portion of the brush from which blacking has been removed might again come into position for engagement with the work. The remainder of the face of the heel may then be blacked in any desired fashion as, for example, by the manual application of blacking with a single stroke of a camels hair brush. Inasmuch as the upper edge of the face of the heel has already been blacked it is no longer essential that this manual operation be carried over the extreme width of the heel and consequently it may be elfected much more quickly and accurately. Any possible ridge which may be formed by the overlapping strokes of the two applications of blacking will be efiaced when the heel is beaded in the usual manner.

Although the preferred arrangement is designed to apply blackin to a. small portion only of the face of the eel, it is within the scope of my invention to provide a machine arranged to apply blacking to the whole width of the face of the heel. For this purpose, an arrangement such as is illustrated in Fig. 4 may be used. In this modification the brush 240 is given a width and shape to correspond to the type of work to be performed and the supporting bracket 280 is correspondingly modified 1n shape but not in character to suit the design of the brush.

With such a widened brush it may become desirable, in addition, to supply blacking directly from the tank to the brush by means of a wheel 150 somewhat similar to the wheel 14: in the form shown in Fig. 1. In addition, a scraper 290 may be employed if desired to remove surplus blacking from the brush.

. Having fully described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is 1. In a machine for applying blacking to boots and shoes, a blacking supply receptacle, a rotatable blackin applying means for applying blacking to t e work presented thereto, and means constructed'and arranged to remove blacking from the receptacle and supply it to the applying means and to cause the rotation of said applyin means during the intervals between the perlods of use, said latter means being also constructed and ar ranged to permit the applying means to be retarded or stoppedby the application of work thereto.

2. In a machine for applying blacking to boots and shoes, a blacking supply receptacle, an idly mounted rotatable soft bristle brush for applying blacking to the work presented thereto, and means for removing blacking from the receptacle and supplying it to the brush, said machine being constructed and arranged to avoid matting of the bristles during its operation.

3. In a machine for applying blacking to boots and shoes, a blacking supply receptacle, an idly mounted rotatable soft bristle brush for applying blacking to the work presented thereto, and means for removing blacking from the receptacle and supplying it to the brush constructed and arranged to cause the presentation of freshly wetted brush surfaces in position for their application to the work.

4. In a machine for applying blacking to boots and shoes,a blacking supply receptacle, a rotatable idly mounted blacking ap plying brush, means for removing blacking from the receptacle and supplying it to the brush, and means for holding said brush against movement in one direction during the presentation of work thereagainst in a single relative movement and then allowing the rotation of the brush to bring a freshly wetted surface into position for engagement by the work.

5. In a machine for applying blacking to boots and shoes, a blacking supply receptacle, an idly mounted rotatable blacking applying means, means for removing black ing from the receptacle and supplying it to said applying means, and means for preventing rotation of said applying means in one direction but arranged. to allow free rotation in the other direction.

6. In a machine for applying blacking to boots and shoes, a work guiding member provided with a thin edge adapted for inser-tion in-the crease between the upper and the sole, an idly mounted blacking applying member mounted for free rotation in one direction beside the work guiding member, and means for supplying blacking to one of said members.

7. In a machine for applying blacking to boots and shoes, work guiding means adapted to engage the rand crease of a boot or shoe, idly mounted rotatable blacking means arranged adjacent to said guiding means, means for adjusting the relative positions of said means, and means for supplying blacking to one of said means.

8. In a machine for applying blacking to boots and shoes, a rand crease guiding means arranged to protect the upper, black ing means mounted for rotation upon a horizontal axis adjacent to said guiding means, means for supplying blacking to one of said means, and means for preventing rotation of said blacking means in one direction but arranged to allow free rotation in the other direction.

9. In a machine for applying blacking, a rotatable guide member having a peripheral portion arranged for engagement between the upper and the sole of a boot or shoe, an idly mounted blacking applying member arranged for rotation adjacent to and in contacting relation with said guide member and arranged to wipe across the surface of a sole or heel presented thereto, and means for supplying blacking to one of said rotatable members.

10. In a machine for applying blacking to boots and shoes, a rotatable rand crease guide, means for supplying blacking thereto, a rotatable blacking applying device mounted adjacent to and in contacting relation with a portion of the periphery of said guide arranged to receive blacking therefrom, and means for preventing the rotation of said blacking applying device in one direction.

11. In a machine for applying blacking to boots and shoes, rotatable guiding means arranged to enter the rand crease of the work and apply blacking to one face thereof, idly mounted means for applying blacking to a portion of the work adjacent to the rand crease arranged for free rotation in one direction upon an axis substantially parallel to the axis of the guiding means, said blacking applying means being arranged in contacting relation with a portion of the periphery of the guiding means, and means for supplying blacking to one of said means.

12. In a machine for applying blacking to boots and shoes, a rotatable rand crease guide, means for supplying blacking to one face thereof, rotatable means mounted for free rotation in frictional engagement with a portion of the periphery of said guide, and means for holding said rotatable means against rotation in one direction upon the application of work thereto and allowing it to rotate with the rand crease guide to pick up a' supply of blacking therefrom during the intervals between the application of work to the machine.

13. In a machine for applying blacking to boots and shoes, a blacking supply receptacle, a driven rotatable guiding disk arranged to enter the crease between the upper and the sole and apply blacking to the adjacent face of the sole, means for removing blacking from the receptacle and supplying it to one face of the disk, and an idly mounted rotatable blacking applying means arranged adjacent said disk'to receive black ing therefrom.

1 1. In a machine for applying blacking to boots and shoes, a blacking supply receptacle, a drivenv rotatable guiding disk arranged to enter the crease between the upper and the sole and apply blacking to the adj acent face of the sole, means for removing blacking from the receptacle and supplying it to one face of the disk, an idly mounted rotatable blacking applying means arranged adjacent said disk to receive blacking therefrom, and means for preventing the rotation of said blacking applying means in one direction during the presentation of work.

15. In a machine for applying blacking to boots and shoes, a rotatable'rand crease guide disk, means for supplying blacking to one facethereof, means for cleaning the other face thereof, an idly mounted blacking applying means arranged for rotation in contacting relation with a portion of that periphery of said disk to which blacking is being supplied, and means for preventing rotation of said'applying means in one direction.

16. In a machine for applying blacking to boots and shoes, a rotatable idly mounted brush arranged to wipe across the surface of work presented thereto, and driven rotatable means arranged to supply blacking toa lateral face of said brush. 7

17. In a machine for applying blacking to boots and shoes, a rotatable rand crease guide, means for supplying blacking thereto, and an idly mounted rotatable soft bristle brush of different diameter arranged in contacting relation with a portion of the lateral periphery of said guide to wipe across said peripheral portion and assist in the application of blacking to work presented to the guide. 7

18. In a machine for applying blacking to boots'and shoes, a rand crease guide formed as a concave disk mounted for rotation around a blacking applying means mounted for rotation around an axis substantially parallel to the first-mentioned axis and being of a smaller diameter than said rand crease substantially horizontal axis,

1,290,165 til guide, said applying means being arranged in contacting relation With a portion of the periphery of said concave disk, means for supplying blacking to said disk, and means for preventing the rotation of said applying means in one direction.

19. In a machine for applying blacking to boots and shoes, a driven member, and blacking applying means arranged to be moved through light frictional engagement with said member, the frictional drive thus provided being such that presentation of Work to the blacking applying means stops the movement thereof normally caused by said frictional drive.

20. In a machine for applying blacking to boots and shoes, a driven member, blacking applying means arranged to be moved through light frictional engagement With said member, and means for preventing movement of the blacking applying means in one direction upon presentation of Work to said means to cause application of blacking thereto.

21. In a machine for applying blacking to boots and shoes, a rotatable brush arranged to wipe across the surface of work presented thereto, and driven rotatable means arranged to supply blacking to said brush and to cause rotation of said brush by frictional engagement therewith.

22. In a machine for applying blacking to boots and shoes, a rotatable brush arranged to Wipe across the surface of Work presented thereto, a driven rotatable rand crease guide arranged to supply blacking to said brush and to cause rotation of the brush by frictional engagement therewith, and means for preventing rotation of the brush in one direction during the application of work thereto.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

FREDERICK M. FURBER.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the "Commissioner of Patents,

' Washington, D. 0. 

